Shopping online for your holiday gifts is incredibly convenient. Why stand in long lines at the mall, when you can find everything you need for your friends and family in your pajamas? The National Retail Federation reports that 59 percent of consumers shop online for the holidays. But you can also open yourself up to identity theft, scams and hacking.

Here are a few ways to keep your information safe.

1. Only shop on websites that have a reputation for being trustworthy with your financial information, like Amazon or Target.com. Moreover, it helps to track your credit score to ensure that you haven’t been hacked. Forty-five percent (45%) of people use a credit monitoring tool so that they have access to tools and resources they need to improve or protect their credit, according to the 2017 Capital One Credit Protection Survey.

2. Check the url of the website. Never put your credit card information online unless there is a padlock icon, and the url starts with “https”. This is called a secure sockets layer or SSL. “Use different passwords for different websites whenever possible, specifically ensuring your banking password is different for other merchants,” says Sarah Strauss, head of fraud and managing vice president, U.S. Card at Capital One

3. Track your credit report on a regular basis so you’ll know when something goes wrong. Thirty-six percent (36%) of people could be doing more to protect their credit, according to the same survey. “You can regularly monitor your credit with a free tool like CreditWise,” says Strauss. “Also, sign up for purchase notifications from your credit card company or bank so you know when your card is used.”

4. Avoid simple passwords. Have at least eight characters that include both upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. Never use your date of birth, name, or any other personal information that a hacker can guess. “If your information is compromised, a fraudster can use that information to open new accounts, access existing accounts, and/or use stolen credit card numbers to make fraudulent purchases,” says Strauss. “One of the biggest risks to your credit score is if a fraudster opens an account in your name, and then defaults on the loan.”

In the worst case scenario, you still have the power to save your credit score. If you see that someone has stolen your identity, you can call one of the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax or TransUnion — and do a credit freeze. This means that you cannot open any new cards under your own name. But the thief can’t, either.

“While your liability for credit card fraud is limited, the process to clean up the fraudulent information on your credit bureau can be time consuming,” says Strauss. “In a world where our information is increasingly digital, the best strategy for consumers is to be vigilant and regularly monitor your credit report and bank accounts to catch fraud quickly.”

Staying protected from cybercriminals is something everyone needs to stay on top of now that we’re living in a digital world. New data breaches, malware and phishing scams are popping up constantly.

Having sensitive information fall into the hands of criminals is the last thing that we need. You definitely don’t want your identity stolen or hackers having access to your bank accounts.

Unfortunately, a massive archive of stolen credentials was recently discovered online that could put you at risk.

Have your credentials been exposed?

Security researchers at 4iQ recently discovered a 41GB archive that contains more than 1.4 billion stolen user credentials. The credentials, including passwords, are unencrypted on the Dark Web.

The database includes email addresses, passwords and usernames. This isn’t actually a new data breach, it’s a collection of information that had been stolen in previous data breaches.

Researchers who discovered the file said, “While scanning the deep and dark web for stolen, leaked or lost data, 4iQ discovered a single file with a database of 1.4 billion clear text credentials–the largest aggregate database found in the dark web to date.”

More than 250 previous data breaches contributed to this collection of stolen credentials. The stolen information was well organized, even indexed alphabetically by the criminal who put it together.

Anytime there is a massive data breach, there are steps that you need to take to make sure your information is secure. Keep reading for suggestions.

Change your password

Whenever you hear news of a data breach, it’s a good idea to change your account passwords. This is especially true if you use the same credentials for multiple websites, which is a bad idea.

If your credentials are stolen from a breach, criminals can test them on other sites to log into those accounts as well.

Keep an eye on your bank accounts

You should already be frequently checking your bank statements, looking for suspicious activity. It’s even more critical when sensitive information has been exposed through a data breach.

If you see anything that seems strange, report it immediately. It’s the best way to keep your financial accounts safe.

Set up two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication, also known as two-step verification, means that to log into your account, you need two ways to prove you are who you say you are. This is an extra layer of security that will help keep your accounts safe.

Investigate your email address

This is a critical step and it will only take a few seconds of your time. You need to find out if your credentials are part of any recent data breach. The best way to find out if you’re impacted is with the Have I Been Pwned website.

It’s an easy-to-use site with a database of information that hackers and malicious programs have released publicly. It monitors hacker sites and collects new data every five to 10 minutes about the latest breaches. You can even set up alerts to be notified if your email address is impacted in the future.

Beware of phishing scams

Scammers will try and piggyback on data breaches like this. They will create phishing emails, hoping to get victims to click on malicious links that could lead to more problems. You need to familiarize yourself with what phishing scams look like so you can avoid falling victim to one.

FROM WEBCAMS, SIGN-INS, TO ALEXA, DON’T MAKE THESE MISTAKES

When our PCs work normally, we sometimes take them for granted. We recklessly fill up our hard drives with data, download files, install applications and browse the web as we please. But of course, all it takes is one installation of a malicious application to ruin your PC and worse, have all your information stolen.

Hackers have taken over the email account of a Louisiana funeral home and are sending email scams to the company’s customers, asking for money.

The hack took place on late Wednesday when employees of Griffin Funeral Home in West Monroe, Louisiana lost access to the company’s Yahoo account, used as the main communications point with customers and business partners.

Hackers asked customers for money transfers

The hackers sent out emails posing as the funeral home’s owner —Glenda Griffin— asking customers and suppliers for a favor.

If the other party replied, hackers would ask for $2,450 to be paid in a Ukrainian bank account. They justified the request by saying that Glenda was on vacation in Europe and her cousin suffered an accident and needed urgent medical care.

The scam was well put together as hackers had apparently studied the company and its owners before launching the campaign. As usual, they didn’t pay too much attention to detail, as they forgot to copy Glenda’s full email signature.

Employees said they detected something wrong after customers and partners called in to inquire about Glenda’s supposed predicament. They realized they got hacked when they inspected emails in the Sent folder and saw the emails without the full signature, which was also supposed to contain a standard disclaimer.

Hackers wrestle control over the email inbox away from staffers

Funeral home staff changed the account’s password, but hackers kept accessing the system. Employees changed the password four times before being locked out for good.

The company reached out to Yahoo for help, but they have not heard back. They also filed a complaint with local police.

In the meantime, the company also changed its official email address and is now informing customers to ignore the recent emails and update their contact details.

Speaking to local media [1,2], a funeral home employee recommended that companies change all passwords as soon as former employees leave, hinting at a possible source of the initial password leak.

Millennials are more aware of cybersecurity careers than they were four years ago and believe that cyber attacks influenced the 2016 presidential election, and yet they’re not interested in pursuing cyber professionally and exhibit careless online habits in their everyday lives.

No, this is not the head-scratching dichotomy of the latest viral video from Simon Sinek explaining this either self-absorbed and entitled or passionately idealistic generation — it depends on whom you ask — born between 1981 and 1997. Rather, the insights are from a new survey from Raytheon Co.’s Intelligence, Information and Services business unit, based in Dulles, along with the National Cyber Security Alliance and Forcepoint, an Austin, Texas-based cyber company owned by Raytheon.

The annual study, in its fifth year, captures what the companies call “alarming” trends among millennials when it comes to cybersecurity. And why does a $24 billion gov-con giant like Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon (NYSE: RTE) care?

Because “the demand for skilled cyber talent has become a national security issue,” Dave Wajsgras, president of the company’s Intelligence, Information and Services division, said in a statement. “While great strides have been made to increase millennial awareness in the cybersecurity profession, there is still work to be done.”

Indeed, hacks and breaches seem to grow more damaging and widespread by the day. At the same time ISACA, a nonprofit information security advocacy group formerly known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, predicts there will be a global shortage of 2 million cybersecurity professionals by 2019.

Every year in the U.S., 40,000 jobs for information security analysts go unfilled, and employers are struggling to fill 200,000 other cybersecurity-related roles, according to cybersecurity data tool CyberSeek. For every 10 cybersecurity posts that appear on careers site Indeed, only seven people even click on one of the ads, let alone apply, according to Forbes.

Some of the survey’s findings are encouraging, showing rising cyber awareness and engagement among millennials:

34 percent of U.S. survey respondents (37 percent globally) said a teacher discussed cybersecurity with them as a career choice, up 21 percent from the number of respondents who said a career in cyber had been mentioned to them by a teacher, guidance or career counselor in 2013.

51 percent of U.S. respondents (52 percent globally) said they know the typical range of responsibilities and job tasks involved in the cybersecurity profession, up from 37 percent in the U.S. in 2014.

Globally, 46 percent of men have met or known someone studying cybersecurity at the high school, university or graduate level.

71 percent of young adults surveyed think it’s their responsibility to keep themselves secure online rather than relying on the government, commercial companies or other individuals.

At the same time:

Globally, only 38 percent of millennials were willing to consider a career in cybersecurity. That percentage is unchanged from 2016.

Only 26 percent of women globally have met or known someone studying cybersecurity at the high school, university or graduate level.

Globally, 63 percent click on links even if they aren’t sure the source of the link is legitimate.

The proportion of U.S. young adults who share passwords with non-family members nearly doubled from 23 percent in 2013 to 39 percent in 2017 (42 percent globally this year).

74 percent reported using unsecured public Wi-Fi today in the U.S. as a matter of convenience even though the security risks are well documented, up from 66 percent in 2013.

“We need to be providing the tools for this generation to take action and embrace safe online practices,” Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance, said in a statement. “We also need strong role models – including parents, teachers, colleagues, and friends – to help improve cyber practices nationwide and encourage the pursuit of cybersecurity careers among young adults.”

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